EU imposes visa restrictions on Somalia as president rejects claims of poor cooperation

The European Union approved visa restrictions on Somali citizens on Thursday, escalating a dispute with Mogadishu over the return of Somalis living in Europe illegally. The bloc's member states acted on a report that Somalia was not doing enough to readmit nationals who had been refused the right to stay.

Somali President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud pushed back, saying his government would readmit its citizens, but many returnees were not Somali nationals. "We haven't rejected our people; they own this country. And we cannot reject them," he said at an Independence Day event, adding that Somalia had "questions about how those people would be returned." He noted that people across the Horn of Africa share a similar appearance and some present themselves as Somali to claim asylum in Europe. He pointed to past cases where individuals sent back as Somalis turned out not to be, including some who "don't know the Somali language."

The pressures driving people to leave are rooted in decades of upheaval. Somalia is still rebuilding after the collapse of its central government in 1991 and the long civil war that followed. Recovery efforts have been stifled by the ongoing al-Shabab insurgency. These conditions have pushed many young Somalis to attempt the dangerous journey to Europe, often through Libya.

EU Migration Commissioner Magnus Brunner said countries of origin must meet their commitments "otherwise, there can be consequences." A European Commission assessment concluded that Somalia's cooperation on readmission was insufficient.

Under the new rules, member states can no longer issue multiple-entry visas to Somalis, and the fee waiver for holders of diplomatic passports has been removed. The standard processing time for visa applications has been extended from 15 to 45 days. The suspension has no fixed end date and is intended as leverage to push Mogadishu toward closer cooperation.

Similar restrictions were placed on The Gambia in 2021 and Ethiopia in 2024, with the Ethiopian curbs lifted in May. The visa restrictions add to a run of setbacks for Somali travelers, including a US travel ban imposed in 2025.